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Animal shelter's pregnant pets stir debate

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — An animal shelter volunteer is clashing with administrators over how the facility handles pregnant strays, decrying a barbaric practice that he said needlessly kills adoptable animals.

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Animal shelter's pregnant pets stir debate

Josh Adams, The Tennessean
3:42 p.m. EDT March 11, 2013

Volunteers are asking an animal shelter to allow pregnant strays to give birth to their litters.

Dr. Catrina Herd of the Animal House Veterinary Clinic in Nashville, examines Mallory and her week-old puppies on Feb. 28. Mallory and the puppies were the subject of a dispute and are living now with a foster family.(Photo: Steve Harman, Tennessean)

Story Highlights

Dogs, cats can't be adopted without being neutered

If a female is pregnant, the litter is not saved

Others say shelter is choosing between euthanizing animals that haven't been born vs. ones that have

Williamson County Animal Control and Adoption Center in this Nashville, Tenn., suburb won't allow dogs or cats leave its facility without first being neutered. If the female happens to be pregnant, the litter is not saved, said Doug Brightwell, director of the shelter.

"We are looking at the larger picture," Brightwell said. "Changing the policy isn't as easy as it looks sometimes. We're already overcrowded with dogs as is."

The shelter has been reducing the number of animals it euthanizes each year, and it is making greater efforts to find homes for its strays, even placing animals at shelters in other states when its kennels are full. Last year, compared with several other shelters in the Nashville area, Williamson County's stray animals were much more likely to find a home.

Despite those improvements, some are pushing for more reform, and it is coming from a group that typically might be labeled as among the facility's greatest supporters: its volunteers.

In February, the shelter had a dog named Mallory in the late stages of a pregnancy. Todd Rumsey, a volunteer there, asked if he could foster the dog so Mallory's puppies could be adopted.

Several weeks ago, Brightwell recognized Rumsey for his work at the shelter and gave him a green apron, signifying his dependability. In December, Rumsey was allowed to take a pregnant dog home so it could deliver its puppies.

Rumsey also is the president of a nonprofit called No Kill Williamson County, which is pushing the shelter to dramatically reduce its euthanasia rate.

"We certainly understand and respect the challenge they face when they realize they have a pregnant animal on their hands," Rumsey said. "Where we disagree is when they know they have an animal in the late stages of their pregnancy. We believe you should let the volunteer community allow those dogs to have their babies."

These week-old puppies at the Animal House Veterinary Clinic in Nashville, Tenn., are healthy but need a permanent home.(Photo: Steve Harman, Tennessean)

By working with organizations such as his, Rumsey said shelters could reduce overcrowding and euthanize fewer animals without incurring additional costs. The goal of no-kill organizations is for shelters to kill fewer than 10% of their animals.

Last year, Williamson County Animal Control euthanized 16% of its dogs and 44% of its cats.

At other suburban shelters, the rate is higher.

In Sumner County, the shelter last year euthanized 63% of the animals it took in. At the shelter in Wilson County, 75% of the cats and dogs were killed.

Nashville's animal control department last year killed 78%.

No advocacy group appears to keep nationwide kill rates, but the Nashville area is often compared to several other cities of comparable population, including Charlotte, N.C., whose Mecklenburg County shelter had a kill rate of 57%; Denver with 16%; and Austin, Texas, widely regarded among animal advocates as the best at 9%.

Rumsey was not allowed to take Mallory home, but the dog and her puppies were released to another volunteer, Polly Jennings. Brightwell acknowledged that pressure from No Kill Williamson County prompted him to find a home for them.

Jennings said she supports the philosophy of No Kill Williamson County but criticized members for not being realistic. The county accepts every animal it is presented but doesn't have the resources to handle the volume.

In the last week of February alone, Brightwell took in 42 dogs, 32 cats and a duck.

“It just makes more sense to euthanize the puppies that haven't been born than to euthanize the ones that have. There aren't any good choices.”

Polly Jennings, shelter volunteer

"It just makes more sense to euthanize the puppies that haven't been born than to euthanize the ones that have," Jennings said. "There aren't any good choices."

As Rumsey talks about the plight of these unborn kittens and puppies, it is easy to recognize language that parallels the abortion debate. In no way does he equate the termination of a canine fetus with that of a human, he said, and the fate of stray animals hasn't always interested him.

But about five years ago, when Rumsey and his family lived in St. Louis, they began volunteering at a shelter because Rumsey's son was in the Scouts and needed to do some work in the community.

"I haven't decided to become a card-carrying member of (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) or anything like that," Rumsey said. "But it certainly raised our awareness of how we treat our companion animals. We still have a lot of people that still say, 'It's just a dog.' "

Brightwell said he isn't opposed to what Rumsey and others in No Kill Williamson County are proposing, but he must consider several logistical matters.

For example, state law allows animal shelters to release pets that are not neutered, as long as the new owners agree to have them neutered within 30 days. But the county recently started working with shelter programs that provide grant money, and their policies prohibit that practice. Brightwell said he isn't willing to sacrifice the revenue.

"There will always be some euthanasia going on in a facility like this," he said.

Contributing: Nate Rau and Bobby Allyn, The Tennessean

More than 3,300 people have signed a petition to try to reform the animal control department in Nashville, Tenn., where even dogs and cats deemed adoptable are euthanized.